Zac Brown: A Conduit to Get Things Done

When Trisha Yearwood took the stage to open the 2017 Country Radio Seminar in Nashville with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Zac Brown removed his hat and held it over his heart.

It was a small gesture, perhaps, but it spoke volumes about the kind of man Brown is.

And when it was his turn to take the stage to accept the CRS Artist Humanitarian Award from Keith Urban — last year’s recipient of the honor — it was obvious that what Urban said was true: “His heart is huge.”

“We named our second album You Get What You Give, which is kind of my mantra that I try to live by every day,” he said. “I owe a lot to the world. I’ve always felt a hand guiding me, as if I’m a conduit here to get some things done.

“The success of the Zac Brown Band has been a gift that allows me to give back as much as I’ve received.”

From his years of USO events to his Camp Southern Ground for children with special needs to his relief efforts when the devastating fires hit Gatlinburg, Tennessee, late last year, Brown maintained that none of it would have been possible without his music, his band, his wife Shelly, who was there with him at the event in Nashville, and the rest of his family.

He brought his six bandmates onstage and was on the verge of tears as he talked about the times they’ve been at crossroads in their careers.